Hamilton cruises to easy win
Most of the excitement took place way behind the leader.
LEWIS Hamilton won his 42nd grand prix race with ease, taking first place at the Russian Grand Prix. To be fair, he was lucky, whereas his teammate Nico Rosberg was very unlucky.
On the seventh lap, while in the lead, Rosberg retired with throttle problems. From then on, Hamilton sailed into the distance in his silver green Mercedes and won with ease.
Behind him there was all sorts of excitement.
Sebastian Vettel, in his blood-red Ferrari, kept his cool and earned a well-deserved second position.
His teammate Kimi Raikkonen drove a blinder of a race but when going for third place he knocked Valtteri Bottas out of the race.
He ended up in eighth place after a penalty for his misdemeanour.
The hero of the race was Sergio Perez who drove for the major part of the race on one set of tyres. He did well to take the final podium spot.
Felipe Massa had a race of mixed fortunes but must have been pleased with a final fourth spot in the other Williams Mercedes.
The Williams cars had been very fast all weekend and it was a great shame that Bottas did not finish on the podium.
Local hero Daniil Kvyat pleased the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and ‘Mr Motor Racing’, Bernie Ecclestone, who were sitting together in the VIP seats. He came home in fifth place.
Felipe Nasr and Pastor Maldonado were sixth and seventh in their Sauber Ferrari and Lotus Mercedes respectively, while McLaren had a much better race, spending much of their time in the top 10.
Jenson Button finished ninth and Fernando Alonso only eleventh after receiving a penalty which gave the young and hard-charging Dutchman Max Verstappen the final points position.
Overall, Hamilton is well in the lead with 302 points, while Vettel is now second with 236 and Rosberg third with 229.
Mercedes now have 531 points and win the World Constructors’ Championship again after last year.
The next race is in the USA on October 24.
